Ryan C. Branski, PhD

Dr. Rusk’s philosophy of rehabilitation persists internationally and emphasizes treatment of the entire person, encompassing emotional, psychological, social, and spiritual needs and not just illness or disability to facilitate maximal functioning. This spirit persists and manifests today as a diverse and incredibly robust research enterprise within the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine. My laboratory seeks to develop and refine optimized therapeutic approaches for diseases of the upper aerodigestive tract that manifest as speech, voice, and swallowing disorders with profound resultant disability and diminished quality of life. Specifically, my collaborative team takes a regenerative medicine approach to these issues and have pioneered delivery of the gene therapy as well as tissue engineering constructs to address functional deficits altering both communication and deglutition.

Dr. Branski’s laboratory is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health and he has published well over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He is a frequent speaker at national and international scientific meetings and is one of only a few investigators to be named Fellow of the American Speech Language Hearing Association, the American Laryngological Association, and the Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.